verdict guilty. convictions on all four charges including two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his wife margaret and son paul until life 2021. you seeing him being led away, they re put in a van, taken away from the courthouse. just moments ago, we are waiting for a conference with will be taking place any moment, now our randi kaye was in the courthouse when the verdicts were read. andy, it is extraordinary how quickly the jury came to this verdict, what was it like in the courtroom when the verdicts were read? yeah, anderson, and took them just about three and a half hours or so to find alex murdaugh guilty on all for the accounts, no way tried to read the jury as they fall back into the courtroom, none of them looked to the right of the courtroom when murdaugh sixth and the family set. they all basically had their heads down as they got into the courtroom, also, anderson, you can see the alex murdaugh, we have this precip that is just about the start he
announced that they had done so to the clerk. and now they are just waiting for court personnel to return to the courtroom, in which the jury will announce its verdict. they went in to deliberations at 3:50 eastern time this afternoon, so this seems like a relatively quick verdict for what was a very complicated and lengthy trial. prosecutors trying to prove that alec murdaugh killed his wife and son. they say to create a distraction as his admitted financial crimes were beginning to catch up with him. the murders took place on the same day that people from his law firm approached him and started questioning him about large sums of missing funds. alec murdaugh eventually admitted to stealing money from clients, from other attorneys, vulnerable individuals, some of his closest friends but throughout the trial he insisted and his attorneys insisted that he was not a murderer, that he would never bring any harm to his family. the defendant, mr. murdaugh, suggested that the killi
hitting severe turbulence. it comes as a pennsylvania man appears in court, accused of trying to bring an explosive on a plane. the alleged plot to kill jewish officials in michigan. the state s attorney general now saying she was among the targets. the house ethics committee officially launching an investigation into george santos. the surprise meeting of the g20. what secretary of state tony blinken told his russian counterpart face the face. and harry smith on the doctor inspiring america by carrying for the city s most vulnerable. announcer: this nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening and everything. there is breaking news where the alex murdaugh double murder case has reached an verdict. murdaugh on trial for the murders of his wife and 22-year-old son. let s go to catie beck right now outside the courthouse in walterboro, north carolina. catie, what can you tell us? lester, this is sort of an exceptional surprise to see a jury come back on a
we should be wondering why it was so fast. i mean, look, most times and charles can agree or disagree with me. as a former prosecutor, when you get a verdict this fast, it s usually a verdict of guilty. this jury has salt through multiple weeks of testimony. this trial started with jury selection january 23rd, i want to say. it s been going more than 61 witnesses presented by the prosecutor. we heard from experts witnesses, we had cell phone evidence, blood spatter evidence. at the end of the day, i think what really moved the needle for the jury was the rebuttal closing from the prosecution. when the prosecutor got up and said, alex murdaugh kicked the person he loved the most, and it wasn t his wife. it wasn t his son. it was himself. and in order to preserve his lifestyle, his addiction, his financial fraud, he picked himself. and if that s what the jury heard last before they went into the jury room, i would not be surprised to see if the verdict is guilty. ellison ba
tell me. the shotgun that i secured in my vehicle on the scene. okay. [no sound] marked as exhibit 4. see if you recognize this particular item. that would be the shotgun i secured. at this time we move exhibit 4 into evidence. no objection. submitted. may i have sergeant green show the firearm to the jury. make sure not to point it at anybody, please. you know how to engage that firearm? okay. all right. sergeant green, i ll show you one other document before we move on to some other matters. all right, your honor i move to admit state s exhibit 2 without objection. no objection. i will show you this exhibit and see if you recognize this document. yes, that would be the chain of custody for the shotgun. is there a signature on that document? it is. what does this mean to the jury? i originally took position of the weapon and turned it over to investigators. may i publish this exhibit, your honor? yes. did you you turned the shotgun over